Concomitant chemotherapy and radiotherapy for inoperable stage Ⅲ non small cell lung cancer / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the effect of concomitantdifferent regimens chemotherapy and radiotherapy for inoperable stage Ⅲ non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods From September 1995 to December 1998, 62 patients with inoperable stage Ⅲ NSCLC were randomized into two groups. Twenty nine patients received paclitaxel 30 mg and cisplatin 30 mg weekly for 5～6 weeks (paclitaxel group), and 33 patients received etoposide (Vp 16) 100 mg and cisplatin 30 mg weekly for 5～6 weeks (VP 16 group). All patients received concomitant radiotherapy as well. Radiotherapy was given with conventional fraction in 2Gy per fraction and five fractions per week. The total tumor doses were 60～70 Gy. Treatment fields covered clinical tumor and lymph node involved. Results The overall response (CR+PR) rate in paclitaxel group was 82.8% with a complete response (CR) rate of 10.3%. The overall response rate in the VP 16 group was 54.6% with a CR rate of 18%. The difference of overall response rate between the two groups was statistically significant (P0.05). The major toxic effects of chemotherapy were gastrointestinal tract reaction and myelosuppression. Conclusions Concomitant chemotherapy of paclitaxel plus cisplatin and radiotherapy for inoperable stage Ⅲ NSCLC is acceptable, and its efficacy is superior to cisplatin plus etoposide combined with radiotherapy.